Tide is not a bank, it’s an online business current account designed to be faster and simpler to open and use than a conventional bank account. 100,000 small business owners, freelancers and sole traders currently use Tide and manage all their transactions and processes on the Tide app.
Tide Business Banking Services
Current Accounts
A Tide current account is managed entirely on the mobile or desktop app. You can schedule payments, set an account limit, and spend abroad for free on your contactless MasterCard. The account holder can pay physical cash into a Tide account via the Post Office.
Your Tide account syncs with popular accounting tools including Xero and QuickBooks. You can also use the app to categorise income and track expenditure. According to Tide, you can open an account in 5 minutes.
There are no monthly fees. Card payments and transfers between Tide accounts are free, it costs £1 per cash payment or withdrawal, and transfers between other bank accounts are charged at 20p.
Savings account
Not available. You can organise cash into separate accounts within your main Tide account, but there are no interest rate incentives.
Overdrafts
Not available.
Business finance and loans
Tide works with business finance company iwoca to provide Tide Credit. Your business can raise up to £15,000 (up to £150,000 is available on request) at 9.9% representative APR. There are no charges for early repayments.
Tide Reviews and Ratings
Tide has nearly 2,000 reviews on Trustpilot with 66% rating it 5/5. Many reviewers are impressed with how intuitive and easy to use it is, however there are several reviews from concerned business owners who have struggled to process payments and think the app lacks accessible customer service.
Smart Money People reviewers are also pretty pleased, say it’s efficient and low cost. Some reviewers claim it’s all plain sailing until something goes wrong though, and then it’s difficult to get through to someone who can help you.
There are no reviews on Reviews.co.uk and Tide isn’t included in the Which? list of ‘Best & Worst Banks’.
In October 2019, Tide secured £44.1 million in investment. According to City AM, “its goal (is) to increase its business banking market share to 8 per cent by 2023”, so it’s likely to become more popular and potentially introduce more sophisticated features in the next few years.
Trustpilot – 4.1/5 (based on 1,955 reviews)
Reviews.co.uk – not included
Smart Money People – 3.87/5 (based on 39 reviews)
Which? – not included
Pros
- No monthly account fee and low transaction fees
- The app is intuitive and easy to use
- Predominantly good reviews on Trustpilot
Cons
- Some reviewers think customer service is patchy
- Doesn’t have the age and stability of a mainstream bank
- No overdraft or savings products available
Website: Tide Business Banking
* Please note we have an affiliate relationship with Tide.